Saturday's round-six Goulburn Valley League clash between Kyabram and Benalla was a dark and dour affair for more than its first hour.
At the eight-minute mark of the third quarter both outfits had combined for 11 scoring shots and a sum total of 26 points for the day.
But five minutes of brilliance from Kyabram's Hayden Gemmill stole the game from beneath the Saints’ noses.
Gemmill acted as the struck match which would light a fire under the Bombers, slotting a set-shot from the 50m-arc, setting up a Kayne Pettifer goal with a perfectly weighted assist and adding another major himself — again from long range — in the blink of an eye to light up the battle.
But a battle it ceased to become, with Kyabram restricting the Saints to a solitary behind in the second half and piling on 10.6 of its own in the 11.11 (77) to 2.4 (16) triumph.
Jason Morgan and Jack Sheldon were crucial in restricting Benalla to two goals, with Zac Keogh, Nic Denahy, Gemmill and Mattingly also among the better players for the Bombers.
Nick Wood, Riley Moran, Dale Martin, Zach Pallpratt, David Mennen and Jordan Wolff battled hard for the Saints across the clash.
More from Ensign Sport:
If you would like to send a letter to the editor on this, or any subject, click this link
8°C